A Cladistic Analysis of Mitochondrial Ribosomal DNA from the Bovidae

Abstract

There is a huge data base of genetic information for the domestic artiodactyl speciesBos taurus(cow),Ovis aries(sheep), andCapra hircus(goat). However, the phylogenetic relationships of these economically critical taxa and their close relatives, family Bovidae, remain for the most part unresolved. In this report, we aligned new mitochondrial (mt) 12S and 16S ribosomal (r) DNA sequences from 26 bovid taxa with published sequences. Phylogenetic analyses of the more than 64 kilobases of mt rDNA from 57 taxa support a basal division in the Bovidae that separatesBosand its close relatives fromCapra, Ovis,and their kin. As suggested by previous molecular and morphological studies, "antelopes" are a paraphyletic assemblage. Caprinae (sheep, goats, goat antelopes, and musk oxen) groups consistently with hippotragine and alcelaphine antelopes, while Bovini (cattle and buffaloes) clusters with tragelaphine and boselaphine antelopes. The traditional tribal subdivisions of Bovidae are supported in most cases, but there are exceptions within Caprinae and Antilopinae (gazelles and close relatives). The rDNA data consistently place the enigmatic generaPelea, Pantholops,andSaiga,but the origin ofAepyceros,the impala, remains obscure. Combined phylogenetic analyses of the rDNA data with the skeletal characters of Gentry (1992) were used to assess the stability of the molecular results. © 1997 Academic Press.